MACOMB, Ill. – For the second match in a row, the University of Tennessee at Martin offense hit over .200 as a team but the Skyhawk volleyball squad fell in four sets (22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 23-25) in a tight decision at Western Illinois.
UT Martin saw a pair of players accrue double-digit kills tonight, led by Kylie Surratt’s 14. Kayla Bryant added 11 kills while Addy Vaughn (nine kills on a team-best .280 attack percentage) nearly reached that mark. Katie Cruise (25 assists) and Hannah Haislip (first career double-double of 17 assists, 11 digs) directed an offense that hit .212 on the evening.
Dylan Mott registered a match-high 26 digs for the Skyhawks (4-14, 2-7 Ohio Valley Conference), who also received career-best defensive efforts out of Kristin Phillips (seven kills) and Jenna Vallée (six blocks, two solo) in a match that had 33 tie scores and 11 lead changes.
After the Fighting Leathernecks (13-8, 7-3 OVC) scored eight of the first 11 points of the match, UT Martin battled all the way back to even the score at 15-all thanks to a 5-0 run that featured three kills by Surratt. Four more ties followed in the set but Western Illinois scratched out three of the final four points to take a 1-0 edge in the match. Mott was responsible for 11 of the Skyhawks’ 17 digs in the opening set.
UT Martin hit .270 in the second set but the Fighting Leathernecks managed to take a 2-0 lead. Vaughn came out hot with three early kills before a Cruise service ace made the score 15-12 in favor of the Skyhawks. A block assist from Vaughn and Maddy Gladson gave UT Martin a 19-17 advantage but Western Illinois concluded the set on an 8-2 run. Surratt had four kills on eight swings for a .500 attack percentage in the second stanza.
Haislip landed a service ace to give the Skyhawks a 6-3 lead in the third set but the Fighting Leathernecks tallied eight of the next nine points. UT Martin flipped the script from the second set, wrapping up the third stanza on a 10-2 surge to stay alive. A kill from Cruise propped up set point before a Bryant kill officially extended the match to a fourth stanza. The Skyhawk trio of Bryant, Surratt and Vaughn each put away a team-best three kills as UT Martin hit .250 in the third set.
The fourth set featured 13 ties and five lead changes on its own. Phillips had three block assists and a pair of kills in the Skyhawks’ first six points as UT Martin doubled up Western Illinois by a 6-3 margin. The action then waned back-and-forth as both sides jockeyed for momentum. The Skyhawks unreeled three straight points to lead 22-21 but the Fighting Leathernecks recorded four of the final five points. Phillips was the star of the final set as the redshirt junior from Orient, Ohio posted three kills, a .333 hitting percentage and a remarkable four blocks.
UT Martin will look to salvage the series finale tomorrow as these two teams meet up at 2 p.m. in Western Hall.
